Sometimes decisions that have been made in the past put all the responsibility on the future, said Whitlock

NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio – The infrastructures throughout the
United States are aging. For the most part they have been all but ignored. Bridges,
roads, water and sewer systems are in desperate need of repair everywhere.

It is no different in North Ridgeville. And, as in most
municipalities, it is so costly to maintain and repair these systems that the
monies are just not available in the general fund.

Despite what could be considered significant increases in sewer
collection rates in 2011 and 2013 (i.e., the 2001 increase of 3% beginning on June
1, 2011 with automatic increases of 3% thereafter beginning on February 1, 2012
through February 1, 2016 and the 2013 hike of 15% in sanitary sewer user charges) the
city is facing serious funding problems to get the job done.

"If you are one of our residents whose basement gets flooded
every time there is a big storm, you've got to be totally frustrated," said
Utility Director Jim Whitlock.

Whitlock explained the issues in
layman's terms.

The sewer system takes
sewage from homes and businesses directly to the French Creek Water Treatment
Plant. However, if the pipes, linings and covers for the manholes
are cracked and leaking, rainwater seeps into the sewer lines.

Even if the
pipes aren't leaking, they may not be wide enough to handle the volume that the
users require. Most of the sanitary sewers were built 40 years ago. Codes have changed and new construction requires pipes that have larger diameters.

The pipes need regular cleaning; otherwise they become
clogged with sludge.

When a heavy storm occurs, the rainwater and water runoff overloads the system
and the sewage and water starts to back up and causes the flooding that can be
so damaging.

"We (the city) take very good care of the trucks, machines
and the system," said Whitlock. "We're out there every day working on it. We've
repaired manholes and relined sections...(and) replaced many manhole covers," he
said.

Bottom line? The increases in rates aren't enough to
do everything that needs to be done. "What we've done so far is just not enough. We've run out of money," Whitlock said.

So what's the solution?

That's what the URS Corporation was hired to study. Their
results indicate the problems are so challenging it will take a multi-level
approach to solve them all.

Much more money is needed for both
the capital improvements and to fund on-going maintenance, thereby reducing any future problems with the system.

Cleaning the system requires special trucks called Vactors.
These trucks are designed to flush out and vacuum up sewage in order to clear
sewer pipes. Each Vactor truck costs $400,000. The city has one now and will
need two more.

In some of the older areas of the city, the pipes of the
sewer system need to be totally replaced.

Routine maintenance of the entire system needs to take place so
that little problems don't become big problems. Inspections can identify
potential problems that are likely to occur in the future. Each sub basin, a designated area of the city, should be closely inspected every 10 years.

Finally, a solution that many cities around the country have
gone to is constructing equalization basins. These are essentially large
concrete troughs that could hold as much as 2.2 million gallons. If the sewers
back up, the water would back up into these basins instead of homes and businesses.

Equalization basis are equipped with sprayers that
automatically clean the sewage water and can provide odor control.

Akron has built two 4 million-gallon equalization basins.
They have all but eliminated any flooding problems throughout the city.

Ideally, North Ridgeville would eventually construct two 2.2
million-gallon basins. However, each one would cost between $5 and $10 million
dollars depending on capacity.

While the URS study has been helpful in identifying areas of
need, the study's alternative strategies to obtain the financing necessary to
complete the project is lacking.

Sewer rates which amount to approximately $6.50 per
household at this time, could be raised anywhere from $7 to $15 depending on how
much of the project is undertaken.

"There are a lot of questions still unanswered by the
current study," said President of Council Kevin Corcoran. "We (council members)
just aren't willing to make decisions about proposed plans not knowing exactly
how much it's going to cost. There's got to be a clearer solution out there."

It is likely that URS will be asked to go back and study the
financing alternatives more closely.

"Sometimes decisions that have been made in the past put all the responsibility on the future," said Whitlock. "Council and the current
administration are trying to do what's right, now."

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